DESCRIPTION: The major aim of the proposed research is to examine how the topic and event of death are understood and acted upon in four long-term care institutions. There has been very little work on the social construction of death in long-term care institutions. Specific aims of the proposed research include the following: 1) assess the effects of distinctive cultural and religious backgrounds of the LTC settings on the treatment and construction of death; 2) examine the institutional organization, framework, and both direct and de facto philosophies concerning death; 3) examine the division of labor among staff and family concerning death-work; 4) investigate the role of death in the daily life of the focal institutions; and 5) assess the mental health effects of current institutional practices on residents, staff and family. Research will occur sequentially in four LTC settings representing distinctive ethnicities and religions (Jewish-American; African-American, primarily Protestant; European American, primarily Irish Catholic, and European American, primarily northern-European Methodist). The methods and analysis will be ethnographic and qualitative in nature, as appropriate for the goals of the study, the research settings, and the level of knowledge development in this area. Consequently, methods will involve in-depth, key informant interviewing; participant observation of activities around death and dying; and case studies.